Galliani plays down Allegri-Inzaghi clash

21 September 2012 11:17

AC Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani on Friday played down a slanging match between coach Massimiliano Allegri and youth team coach Filippo Inzaghi which left parents shocked on Thursday.

"I have spoken to both Allegri and Inzaghi and they say it has been exaggerated. For me, it's a closed matter," Galliano said Friday.

Allegri won the Serie A title and Italian Super Cup in his first season in charge in 2011 but following the loss of several key players in the summer Milan are enduring their worst start to the season in over 80 years.

Existing tensions over their failure to win at home this season, including their Champions League opener against Anderlecht in mid-week, appeared to boil over when he visited the youth team's training camp in Milan this week.

Allegri reportedly greeted Inzaghi, was ignored and, after words were exchanged, it turned nasty as youth players and their parents looked on in shock.

Although Inzaghi is alleged to have accused Allegri of not taking his job "seriously enough", Corriere dello Sport said Friday "old grudges related to the last two seasons" were the basis for the quarrel.

In 202 appearances for the club Inzaghi scored 73 goals. Over his career the Italian scored 70 Champions League goals to sit second behind Spain's Raul in the competition's all-time scoring charts.

However Inzaghi, who made fewer than 20 appearances in his last two seasons, was effectively pushed out of the team at the end of last season when the club did not offer him a new contract.

Although now their youth team coach, he said recently that he would rather be playing.

Allegri has so far been given Galliani's backing but reports say his future could be decided by the result of Sunday's away match at Udinese.